California’s high court has handed President Trump an epic win against the governor and state legislator in a unanimous decision.
The state of California recently passed a law that orders politicians to prove tax returns for several years before running for national office.
The court ruling stated, “The Legislature may well be correct that a presidential candidate’s income tax returns could provide California voters with important information,” the court said in its ruling. “But article II, section 5(c) embeds in the state Constitution the principle that, ultimately, it is the voters who must decide whether the refusal of a ‘recognized candidate throughout the nation or throughout California for the office of President of the United States’ to make such information available to the public will have consequences at the ballot box.”
President Trump immediately challenged the law when it was signed. Former Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill in 2017.
“Republicans have repeatedly voiced our position that the Democrats’ Presidential Disclosure law is unconstitutional and an attempt to tamper with the Presidential primary by suppressing Republican voter turn-out,” said state Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove. “Today, the justices of the State Supreme Court validated our concerns and sided with us.”
A professor of constitutional law at New York University told the New York Times in August, “What other kinds of regulations can one imagine that states might impose on presidential candidates to get onto the ballot?” Legal experts also expressed concern over the California law.
The ruling comes just ahead of the November 26th deadline for candidates to submit their tax returns to get on the March presidential primary ballot.
